<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Kirpe and The Gatekeeper by Snodroppen_prastkragge</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29319426">Kirpe and The Gatekeeper</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snodroppen_prastkragge/pseuds/Snodroppen_prastkragge'>Snodroppen_prastkragge</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dr. Pelps Zoo [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Norse Religion &amp; Lore, Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Fairies, Fish, Minor Character Death, Poor Life Choices, Portals, References to Norse Religion &amp; Lore, Running, Swimming, Unicorns</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:48:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,096</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29319426</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snodroppen_prastkragge/pseuds/Snodroppen_prastkragge</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing girl's mother has contacted me about a cryptic text she sent a few days after her disappearance. She wants me to look into it. I’ve tried explaining to her that her daughter is dead but she wants proof or at least some token to remember her daughter by.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dr. Pelps Zoo [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142747</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kirpe and The Gatekeeper</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>English is not my first language</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There are rules for how you survive traveling between the worlds. </p><p>1. 1 hour there is one day for us<br/>
2. always plan so that you meet the Gatekeeper at fullmone at home<br/>
3. The Gatekeeper isn’t your friend<br/>
4. If you see a unicorn, the Gatekeeper knows that you’re there<br/>
5. Unicorns will protect you<br/>
6. If it comes between death or Pelps, choose death<br/>
7. Anyone who doesn't follow the Gatekeeper works for Pelps. </p><p>The girl whose mother asked me to find her didn’t follow the rules. I have tried explaining to her mother that she most likely was dead but she insisted that i should at least try and she pays well. Her daughter is dead, she tied the second the Gatekeeper found her but money is money and I have loans to pay. </p><p>The name’s Kirpe. I work as a busdriver and moonlight with finding those misled by the supernatural. I am a white/Taiwanese man aged 24 years. Girls like my hair, they claim it’s silky smooth. My mother lives in Bromma with my stepfather and halfsister. I never knew my dad but accordning to my mom he was one step away from being a neo-nazi. He left me a book about the supernatural and a medallion depicting vegvisir. </p><p>The rules and tha gates are written down in the book. Both the Gatekeeper and Pelps want the book. They claim to be able to read the runes that it is written in. Everything except the first pages is written in runes. I’ve tried translating it, but it’s complete gibberish. </p><p>There are three gates in Sweden. One in the mountains up north, one in the baltic sea and a third in the forests between Sweden and Norway. The safest one is the one in the baltic sea. And that’s the one I’m taking. </p><p>The gate’s not in the sea but more on the shoreish. It’s only available at full moon. </p><p>The sea shimmers in the full moon. My air gets knocked out of me as I step down into the freezing water. I take a deep breath and throw myself into the sea. It's dark and tastes awful as I breathe it in. The torrent smack right into my stomach and throws me backwards, up on to the shore. I lay on my back, gasping for air. My rainjacket is plastered against my skin, the once light blue colour now dark from the sand and mud sticking on to it. </p><p>The golden sun is high on the sky. Fluffy clouds in the shapes of animals glide slowly across the blue sky. I take a deep breath and stand up. The stones on the shore are dotted with gray. It quickly transitions into glowing orange hay. The field stretches for kilometres. In the horizon I can see tiny specks that are meant to be gigantic trees. The forest is Pelps territory, take one step inside and he knows that you are there. </p><p>I check for unicorns before walking into the field. Fairies are flying around in the field. They come in all sorts of colours. The younger ones stare at me. They fly around and inspect my clothes and when they realise that I’m too heavy to fly they laugh at me. Some fly in intricate swirls in front of me. One hovers in front of me. She’s dressed in a large orange petal and has monarch butterfly wings. She flies close enough to touch me, her fingers are like hot needles pressed against my skin. </p><p>I wave her away, she hisses and shows her needlepoint teeth. Muttering she flies down into one of many holes in the ground. The hay bends in the cold wind coming from the lake. I shudder and pull my coat closer. The fairies whisper to each other and fly underground. </p><p>I hear a noise coming from behind me. I suppress a sigh and turn around. The Gatekeeper stands tall and looks at me. His glowing eyes dig into mine. The gloved hands are twined together as if in prayer. His black coat touches the ground and pools around his wrists. He’s frowning, in his hands there is a buzzing phone. A chain is wrapped around the phone, an angel figurine is dangling from it,</p><p>“Kirpe,” he says and holds out the phone to me. The black screen lights up with a missed call. His frown grows deeper and he scrunches his eyebrows together. It’s almost cute. His glaring at me, eyes glowing with annoyance. I take the phone and he relaxes and puts his hands into the large pockets. He kicks the ground, a fairy pops up and chatters accusingly at him. He throws up his hands, the fairy crosses her arms and shakes her head before going underground. I snort and he turns to stare at me. </p><p>He points towards the lake, “Leave” he says, grumpily. He sighs when I don’t move, “The girl’s dead. Leave be-” the ground shakes, something crashes into it. It comes from the forest. The gatekeeper grabs me and throws us onto the ground. I drop the phone, the screen breaks as it falls into the ground. I put it into my pocket. </p><p>The Gatekeeper begins to crawl through the fields, he waves at me to follow. I pocket the phone and crawl after him. The fairies chatter breaks through the dirt layer. A group of fairies dressed in black fly up and towards the sound. One stays with the Gatekeeper. </p><p>He turns towards me and holds up three fingers. Slowly he lowers them one by one. At the third he stands up and bolts. I try to get up, my arms are shaking so hard that I can’t find the strength to lift myself. The fairy grabs my jacket and tries to pull me up. Footsteps are coming closer. I stand up, just as the Gatekeeper comes charging back. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the field. Every now and then he looks behind him. The fairy is flying in front of us, when she turns we turn. </p><p>The ground begins to vibrate, the fairy screams and flaps her wings faster. The Gatekeeper pales, as much as his already pale skin allows him to. He’s more grey than white. His grip around my arm is hard enough to leave bruises. His breaths come out in shocks as I pants after him. </p><p>There is a group of birch trees growing next to the field. They move their branches out of the way. The Gatekeeper tackles me into one of them, bark growing behind him hiding the hole. The trunk is tight, his face is less than a centimeter from my throat. The fairy curls up on his left shoulder. His lips open slightly as he breathes.  The air tastes like sap and dirt. He leans his head against the bark, the fairy stumbles and nearly falls off his shoulder. </p><p>“What’s-” he slaps his hand on my mouth and shakes his head. The sound of wood being ripped apart comes from behind us. Something falls into the ground, making it jump. Something large roars from above us and the top of our tree is ripped away. A clawed hand grips the top of the hollow trunk and the ground disappears. The sun and the clouds spin around. The fairy screams, she tries to fly but she seems static. We hit water and it begins to rush in. The Gatekeeper grabs the fairy and stuffs her into his coat. He takes a deep breath and I go blind. </p><p>The water is dark, I reach out for the Gatekeeper but the space is empty. He kicks me in the head as he swims past. I follow him, he kicks my hands when I get too close. It turns cold. I feel for the rough bark but I only drag through muddy water. There is no-one in front of me. My lungs burn for air. My mouth opens and I take in a mouthful of mud. I open my eyes, all I see is black. The dirt stings in my eyes. I reach out for something,anything. </p><p>A foot kicks me, I grab it and is slowly pulled up to the surface. I breach the surface and spit out the water. I cough as I try to breathe, my throat burns. The Gatekeeper is treading the water. He’s holding the fairy above the water. Pieces of her wings stick to his wet hands. Larger parts are floating around us. A deep roaring comes from the field. He closes his eyes and lowers the fairy into the water. She sinks. </p><p>“We need to get to the other shore.” he whispers. I nood and follow him with shaky strokes. The Gatekeeper swims steadily, sometimes he checks on me. His eyes glide over me when he does it. They glow slightly stronger and he bites his lips, his cheeks pulling at them. </p><p>A fish swims past me, it’s scaly hide touches my hands. I nearly swim into the Gatekeeper. He’s hyperventilating, one hand on top of his mouth. His eyelids are pressed together. </p><p>“It’s just fish,” I say. He gasps, a whine emitting from his throat, “We need to get to the shore.” he shakes his head. I grab his arms and swim while pulling him with me. I kick into shoals of fish that quickly disappear but there always comes another. He’s heavy, the coat is pulling him down. I move to take it but he screams. Genuinely screams as I touch the buttons. </p><p>I hit mud and grey sludge surfaces. I can feel something firm beneath my feet. Uncertain, I stand up. The water reaches up to my chin. My back hits something and straw tickles my neck. I look back and see a grassfield. A pack of unicorns are standing a bit away, eating. The Gatekeeper gasps. He slither out of my grip and heaves himself onto the grass. I follow him, the grass is slippery beneath my wet hands. </p><p>The unicorns mules are buried in the grass but not rhythmical chewing can be heard. One, with a horn as long as my arms raise its head. It walks up to the Gatekeeper. Its whiter looks like it would be quite a few centimeters above my head. It bows down and lets the Gatekeeper wind his arms around its neck. He swings up onto its back and strokes its pearly fur. </p><p>I stand up. The Gatekeepers' unicorn whinnys. A smaller one snorts, it kicks the ground before it walks over to me. It stops and lays down on the ground so I can get on. </p><p>We travel away from the flock, into the forest. The unicorn is warm, its fur jerks where water droplets hit it. After a few seconds white flowers appear on the ground, they quickly cover the blue grass. </p><p>Garm is guarding the door to the cottage. He runs up to meet the Gatekeeper, his head brushes his feet. The Gatekeeper strokes the unicorn and whispers into its ear. He swings his leg over its neck and glides down onto the ground. Garm runs around him, he attempts to jump but he’s stopped. </p><p>I’m about to swing my leg over my unicorn's neck but it falls to the ground and I fall off. It stands up and bites after the large unicorns. The Gatekeeper laughs. He waves them goodbye as they walk into the forest. He looks at me, </p><p>“You should leave.” he says as Garm jumps up and puts his paws on his shoulders. He stumbles and falls to the ground. Garm goes boneless on him. The Gatekeeper groans. </p><p>“Garm will. Show. The way.” he gasps. He attempts to push Garm away. Garm gives me a dirty look, he licks the Gatekeepers hair before standing up. The Gatekeeper sits up, he brushes trough his hair, </p><p>“You should hurry, before Pelp shows up.” Garm bites into my jacket and pulls me through the woods. The Gatekeeper watches us until he disappears behind the threes. </p><p>The forest is empty save for a horned creature. It watches us, a bark hand reaches out to me. Garm jumps up and nearly bites it. It retreats into a large oak. </p><p>The gate stands at the end of a golden road. Garm pulls me to the door. He barks when I don’t take the knob at once. I shoo him away, “Go home.” he growls at me and shoves me into the door. It opens and I fall through. </p><p>Now I’m stuck in freaking Norway.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>